Method and apparatus for transmitting a frame in a wireless ran system

ABSTRACT

A method of transmitting data in a wireless local area network; and a device therefore are discussed. The method according to one embodiment includes generating, by a transmitting station, a physical layer convergence procedure (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU), the PPDU including a signal field and a data field; and transmitting, by the transmitting station, the PPDU to the receiving station. The signal field includes a class type indicating whether a transmission type of the PPDU is an uplink transmission or a downlink transmission.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/466,203 filed on Aug. 22, 2014, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/318,019 filed on Oct. 28, 2011 (nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,848,680, issued on Sep. 30, 2014), which is the nationalphase of PCT International Application No. PCT/KR2010/008650 filed onDec. 3, 2010, and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Nos.61/266,481 filed on Dec. 3, 2009, and 61/312,634 filed on Mar. 10, 2010.The contents of all these applications are hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to wireless communication, and moreparticularly, to a method and apparatus for transmitting a frame in aWireless Local Area Network (WLAN) system.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

With the recent development of information communication technology, avariety of wireless communication techniques are being developed. Fromamong the techniques, WLAN is a technique, enabling wireless access tothe Internet at homes or companies or in specific service providingareas through mobile terminals, such as a Personal Digital Assistant(PDA), a laptop computer, and a Portable Multimedia Player (PMP), basedon radio frequency technology.

Lots of standardization tasks are being carried out since Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802 (i.e., the standardorganization for WLAN technique) was set up on February, 1980. Theinitial WLAN technique was able to support the bit rate of 1 to 2 Mbpsthrough frequency hopping, band spreading, and infrared communication byusing a 2.4 GHz frequency band in accordance with the IEEE 802.11standard, but the recent WLAN technique can support a maximum bit rateof 54 Mbps using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) method.Furthermore, in the IEEE 802.11 standard, the standardization of varioustechniques, such as the improvements of Quality of Service (QoS), thecompatibility of Access Point (AP) protocols, security enhancement,radio resource measurement, wireless access vehicular environment forvehicle environments, fast roaming, a mesh network, interworking with anexternal network, and wireless network management, is put to practicaluse or being developed. Furthermore, in order to overcome a limit to thecommunication speed that has been considered as vulnerabilities in theWLAN technique, IEEE 802.11n has recently been standardized as atechnology standard. The object of the IEEE 802.11n is to increase thespeed and reliability of a network and to expand the coverage of awireless network.

More particularly, the IEEE 802.11n standard is based on a MultipleInputs and Multiple Outputs (MIMO) technique which uses multipleantennas on both sides of a transmitter and a receiver, in order tosupport a High Throughput (HT) having a data processing speed of 540Mbps or higher, minimize transmission error, and optimize the data rate.Furthermore, the IEEE 802.11n standard may use not only a coding schemefor transmitting several redundant copies in order to increasereliability of data, but also an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex(OFDM) scheme in order to increase the data rate.

With the spread of the WLAN technique being activated and applicationsusing the WLAN technique being diversified, there is a need for a newWLAN system capable of supporting the throughput higher than the dataprocessing speed supported by the IEEE 802.11n standard. However, anIEEE 802.11n Medium Access Control (MAC)/Physical Layer (PHY) protocolis not effective in providing the throughput of 1 Gbps or higher. Thisis because the IEEE 802.11n MAC/PHY protocol is for the operation of astation (STA) having a single Network Interface Card (NIC). Accordingly,if the throughput of frames is increased while the existing IEEE 802.11nMAC/PHY protocol remains intact, overhead is increased. Consequently, toimprove the throughput of a wireless communication network while theexisting IEEE 802.11n MAC/PHY protocol (i.e., the single STAarchitecture) remains intact is limited.

In order to achieve the data processing speed of 1 Gbps or higher in awireless communication network, there is a need for a new system whichis different from the existing IEEE 802.11n MAC/PHY protocol (i.e., thesingle STA architecture). A Very High Throughput (VHT) WLAN system isthe next version of the IEEE 802.11n WLAN system. The VHT WLAN system isone of the recent IEEE 802.11 WLAN systems which are being newlyproposed in order to support the data processing speed of 1 Gbps orhigher in a MAC Service Access Point (SAP).

The VHT WLAN system enables a plurality of VHT STAs to access radiochannels at the same time in order to efficiently use the channels. Tothis end, the VHT WLAN system supports transmission of a Multi-UserMultiple Inputs Multiple Outputs (MU-MIMO) method using multipleantennas. A VHT Access Point (AP) can perform a Spatial DivisionMultiple Access (SDMA) transmission method of transmitting spatiallymultiplexed data to a plurality of VHT STAs. If a plurality of spatialstreams is distributed into a plurality of STAs and transmitted at thesame time using a plurality of antennas, the entire throughput of a WLANsystem can be increased.

Legacy terminals, supporting WLAN systems (e.g., IEEE 802.11a/b/g)anterior to the IEEE 802.11n WLAN system, and HT terminals supportingthe IEEE 802.11n WLAN system may be basically operated in an active modeand a Power Saving (PS) mode. A terminal which is stably supplied withpower using a power cable is relatively less sensitive to consumptionefficiency because the power is stably supplied. On the other hand, aterminal operated by the battery of a certain capacity may be sensitiveto power consumption efficiency because it must be operated within thelimited power. From a viewpoint of terminal mobility, a terminal whichis supplied with stable power through a power cable may have a limit tomobility. On the other hand, a terminal supplied with power from thebattery may be less sensitive to mobility. In order to increase thepower consumption efficiency of a terminal, a terminal may be operatedin the PS mode. A terminal operating in the PS mode repeatedly switchesbetween an awake mode and a sleep mode in order to efficiently uselimited power.

Consideration to power consumption efficiency may still be an importantissue even in the VHT WLAN system. Accordingly, a new Physical LayerConvergence Procedure (PLCP) frame format and a method of determiningand transmitting control information to be transmitted through a PLCPframe need to be taken into consideration by taking power consumptionefficiency into consideration in a WLAN system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the aboveproblems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide amethod of transmitting a PLCP frame that may be used in a WLAN systemand an apparatus for supporting the method.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method ofreducing power of a station and an apparatus for supporting the method.

In an aspect, a method of a transmission station transmitting a frame ina Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) system includes generating an MACProtocol Data Unit (MPDU) to be transmitted to a target station,generating a PLCP Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) by attaching a PhysicalLayer Convergence Procedure (PLCP) header to the MPDU and transmittingthe PPDU to the target station, wherein the PLCP header comprises apartial Association ID (AID) of the target station.

The partial AID of the target station may be obtained from an AIDallocated by an Access Point (AP) in a process of the target stationbeing associated with the AP.

The length of the AID may be 16 bits and the partial AID may be set to 9bits of a low order from among the 16 bits of the AID.

The partial AID may be included in a VHT-Signal (VHT-SIG) field of thePLCP header and the VHT-SIG field may include control informationnecessary for the target station to receive the PPDU and to demodulateand decode the PPDU.

The partial AID may include information indicating whether each of thetransmission station and the target station is an AP or a non-APstation.

In another aspect, a method of a transmission station transmitting aframe in a WLAN system includes generating a plurality of MPDUs to betransmitted to a plurality of respective target stations, generatingPPDUs by attaching a PLCP header to the plurality of MPDUs andsimultaneously transmitting the PPDUs to the plurality of targetstations, wherein the PLCP header comprises a group ID indicating theplurality of target stations.

The group ID may be included in a VHT-SIG field of the PLCP header andthe VHT-SIG field includes control information in common applied to theplurality of target stations.

In still another aspect, a station operating in a WLAN system includes atransceiver configured to transmit or receive a PPDU, and a processorfunctionally connected to the transceiver, wherein the processor isconfigured to generate an MPDU to be transmitted to a target station,generate a PPDU by attaching a PLCP header to the MPDU and transmit thePPDU to the target station, and the PLCP header comprises a partial AIDof the target station.

The partial AID of the target station may be obtained from an AIDallocated by an AP in a process of the target station being associatedwith the AP.

The length of the AID may be of 16 bits and the partial AID is set to 9bits of a low order from among the 16 bits of the AID.

The partial AID may be included in a VHT-SIG field of the PLCP headerand the VHT-SIG field includes control information necessary for thetarget station to receive the PPDU and to demodulate and decode thePPDU.

The partial AID may include information indicating whether each of thetransmission station and the target station is an AP or a non-APstation.

There are provided a PLCP frame format applicable to a WLAN system, amethod of transmitting the PLCP frame, and an apparatus for supportingthe method. The power consumption efficiency of a station of a WLANsystem can be increased and an efficient operation according to the typeof traffic is possible, by using a new PLCP frame proposed by thepresent invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the physical layer architecture of IEEE802.11;

FIG. 2 shows an example of a procedure of transmitting a PLCP frame;

FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of the PLCP frame and ofthe transmission of target STA information according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 shows an example in which a group ID is included in a PLCP headerand transmitted;

FIG. 5 shows an example of a PLCP frame format to which the presentinvention may be applied;

FIG. 6 shows an example in which a unique sequence of an STA to whichdata will be transmitted is masked to the CRC value of a VHT-SIG fieldand transmitted;

FIGS. 7 and 8 show examples in which a UL data frame and a DL data frameare transmitted according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 shows an example in which a partial AID is included in a VHT-SIGfield and transmitted;

FIG. 10 illustrates a problem that may be generated in an OBSSenvironment;

FIG. 11 shows an example of the frame format of a beacon frame includinga local AP ID according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 shows a radio frame reception algorithm for reducing the powerconsumption of an STA;

FIG. 13 shows an example of a PLCP frame format that supports SU-MIMOtransmission according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 shows an example of a method of an AP transmitting a frame whenan STA is operated in a PS mode;

FIG. 15 shows a method of an AP transmitting a frame according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 shows an example in which an AP and an STA are operated in orderto reduce the power consumption of the AP according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 17 shows an example in which an AP and an STA are operated in orderto reduce the power consumption of the AP according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a wireless apparatus in which theembodiment of the present invention is implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detailbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings.

A WLAN system in which an embodiment of the present invention isimplemented includes at least one Basic Service Set (BSS). The BSS is aset of STAs (stations) successfully synchronized with each other formutual communication. The BSS may be classified into an independent BSS(IBSS) and an infrastructure BSS.

The infrastructure BSS includes at least one STA and at least one AP(Access Point). The AP is a function medium for providing connectionthrough the wireless medium of each STA within the BSS. The AP may alsobe called another terminology, such as a centralized controller, a BaseStation (BS), and a scheduler.

The STA is a specific function medium, including an MAC (medium accesscontrol) and PHY (wireless-medium physical layer) interface to satisfythe IEEE 802.11 standard. The STA may be an AP STA or a non-AP STA, butrefers to a non-AP STA different to an AP, unless described otherwisehereinafter. The STA may also be called another terminology, such asUser Equipment (UE), a Mobile Station (MS), a Mobile Terminal (MT), aportable device, or an interface card.

The STA may be classified into a VHT-STA, an HT-STA, and a Legacy(L)-STA. The HT-STA refers to an STA supporting the IEEE 802.11nstandard, and the L-STA refers to an STA supporting the lower version ofthe IEEE 802.11n standard (e.g., the IEEE 802.11a/h/g standards). TheL-STA is also called a non-HT STA.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the physical layer architecture of the IEEE802.11 standard.

The PHY layer architecture of the IEEE 802.11 standard includes a PHYLayer Management Entity (PLME), a Physical Layer Convergence Procedure(PLCP) sublayer 110, and a Physical Medium Dependent (PMD) sublayer 100.The PLME provides a function of managing the PHY layer, while operatingin conjunction with a MAC Layer Management Entity (MLME). The PLCPsublayer 110 transfers a MAC Protocol Data Unit (MPDU), received from aMAC sublayer 12, to the PMD sublayer 100 or transfers a frame, receivedfrom the PMD sublayer 100, to the MAC sublayer 120 according to aninstruction of the MAC layer 120 between the MAC sublayer 120 and thePMD sublayer 100. The PMD sublayer 100 is a lower layer of the PLCP, andit enables the transmission and reception of physical layer entitiesbetween two STAs through a wireless medium.

The PLCP sublayer 110 adds supplementary fields, including informationnecessary for physical layer transmitter and receiver, in a process ofreceiving an MPDU from the MAC sublayer 120 and transferring the MPDU tothe PMD sublayer 100. The added fields may become tail bits over a PLCPpreamble, a PLCP header, and a data field in the MPDU. The PLCP preamblefunctions to have a receiver prepared for a synchronization function andantenna diversity before a PLCP Service Data Unit (PSDU) (=MPDU) istransmitted. The PLCP header includes a field including informationabout a frame. The PLCP header will be described in more detail laterwith reference to FIG. 2.

In the PLCP sublayer 110, a PLCP Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) is created byadding the above-described field to the MPDU and then transmitted to areception STA via the PMD sublayer 100. The reception STA receives thePPDU, obtains information for restoring data from the PLCP preamble andthe PLCP header, and restores the data based on the information.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a procedure of transmitting the PLCP frame.

The MPDU of the MAC sublayer is transferred to the PLCP sublayer of thePHY layer for transmission through a wireless medium. In the PLCPsublayer, an L-SIG field, including control information about an L-STA,and a VHT-SIG1 field and a VHT-SIG2 field, including control informationabout a VHT STA, are added, and padding bit may be added as occasiondemands. Furthermore, tail bits may be further added according to anencoding scheme. Here, non-VHT training symbols and VHT training symbolsare added. The non-VHT training symbols are used for a reception STA toobtain frame timing acquisition, Automatic Gain Control (AGC), andcoarse frequency and may be used for channel estimation for demodulatingL-SIG and VHT-SIG1 fields. The VHT training symbols may be used forchannel estimation for demodulating a VHT-SIG2 field.

The MPDU of the MAC sublayer is transmitted from the PMD sublayer to acounterpart STA through a wireless medium via the PLCP sublayer. In thePMD layer, the PPDU transmitted through a wireless medium includes anon-VHT preamble, fields, such as L-SIG, VHT-SIG1, VHT-SIG2,VHT-training, and VHT-SIG2, and data fields. Hereinafter, in the PLCPlayer of a transmission STA (including an AP), fields added to the PSDUreceived from the MAC layer are generally referred to as a PLCP preambleand a PLCP header.

The PLCP frame according to the embodiment of the present inventionincludes information about a target STA. The target STA information maybe included in a field added to the MPDU in the PLCP sublayer or may beadded as a separate field and transmitted. The target STA information isdifferent from a receiver address (or a receiving station address RA) ora destination address (DA) in the MAC protocol layer, included in theMPDU. In other words, in the MAC protocol layer, unlike a receiveraddress or a destination address set in the address field of an MACheader and then transmitted, the target STA information of the presentinvention is added to the MPDU in the PLCP sublayer and thentransmitted. For example, in the transmission of the target STAinformation according to the present invention, the target STAinformation may be included in the VHT-SIG field added in the PLCPsublayer and then transmitted. Hereinafter, a detailed example of thetarget STA information and an operation of an STA receiving oroverhearing the PLCP frame proposed by the present invention aredescribed in connection with various embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of the PLCP frame and ofthe transmission of target STA information according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

In the example of FIG. 3, an AP (5) is illustrated to transmit the PLCPframe to an STA 1 (10), but the present invention is not limitedthereto. A terminal transmitting the PLCP frame may be an STA, and aterminal receiving the PLCP frame may be an STA or an AP.

The AP (5) adds a PLCP preamble and a PLCP header to an MSDU, includingdata 310 to be transmitted to the STA 1 (10), in a PLCP sublayerimplemented in the AP (5). Here, target STA information may be includedin a VHT-SIG1 or VHT-SIG2 field. More particularly, the VHT-SIG1 orVHT-SIG2 field may include N bits including the target STA information.The N bits included in the VHT-SIG1 or VHT-SIG2 field may directlyindicate the target STA information, or the N bits may have a formindicating any one of M kinds of states that may be represented by the Nbits. That is, the N bits may be index information to indicate any oneof M kinds of preset states.

In a WLAN system, while an STA does not perform transmission, the STAperforms carrier sense in order to receive radio frames that are notknown when they are received. If carriers are detected as a result ofthe carrier sense, the STA determines whether relevant data packets inthe MAC sublayer are information for its own by demodulating the datapackets. Accordingly, the STA consumes power in order to demodulate anddecode all received data packets. It leads to a reduction in the powerefficiency of the STA.

The target STA information included in the PLCP header may be used toincrease the power efficiency of an STA which receives or overhears thePLCP frame. The receiving or overhearing STA may determine whether toenter a sleep mode based on the target STA information in order toreduce demodulation and decoding for unnecessary data packets.

This is described with reference to the example of FIG. 3. The PLCPheader of the PLCP frame transmitted by the AP (5) includes the N bitsor comparable M pieces of the state information 300. If the STA 1 (10)reads the header of the PLCP frame transmitted by the AP (5) and knowsthat the header of the PLCP frame is not for its own data orinformation, the STA 1 (10) does not need to decode subsequent fields.In this case, the STA 1 (10) may switch to the sleep mode. Here, theVHT-SIG field may further include period information, indicating theperiod in which the STA 1 (10) will be operated in the sleep mode.During the period indicated by the period information, the STA 1 (10)may be operated in the sleep mode. The period in which the STA 1 (10) isoperated in the sleep mode may be a period until the data field 310 istransmitted or until an ACK frame for data is transmitted. In the casewhere an ACK frame for data is not immediately transmitted and data isconsecutively transmitted according to an ACK policy, the STA 1 (10) maybe operated in the sleep mode until the data field of a first PLCP frameis transmitted.

In the example of FIG. 3, the target STA information transmitted throughthe N bits may be ID information about the STA. That is, if a physicalID that may be represented by the N bits or the comparable M pieces ofstate information is assigned to each STA, the STA can distinguishinformation assigned thereto from information assigned to another STA.Accordingly, the STA does not need to detect all pieces of informationas in the operations of the existing STAs. In other words, if acorresponding PLCP frame is determined to be unnecessary for itself orto be information for other STAs, a corresponding STA may switch to thesleep mode in order to reduce power consumption.

The physical ID may be, for example, a group ID. In the group ID, STAsthat may become candidates for supporting an MU-MIMO operation isgrouped into one group, and a group ID is assigned to the group. An STAdetermines that a PLCP frame, having the same group ID as a group towhich the STA belongs, is for its own and that a PLCP frame, having adifferent group ID from the group to which the STA belongs, hasdata/information unnecessary for the STA. Accordingly, the STA may nolonger perform demodulation and decoding for the relevant PLCP frame andswitch to the sleep mode.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which the group ID is included in the PLCPheader and transmitted.

In FIG. 4, it is assumed that an STA 1, an STA 2, and an STA 4constitute a Group A (15) and assigned a Group ID=A, and an STA 3, anSTA 7, and an STA 10 constitute a Group B (25) and assigned a GroupID=B. Here, if the data of a PLCP frame is transmitted to the STAs ofthe Group A (15), the STAs belonging to the Group B (25) knows that thedata of a PLCP frame is unnecessary based on group ID information 400included in the PLCP header of the PLCP frame and may switch to thesleep mode without further demodulation or decoding for subsequentfields.

In the above method, an STA that has received the PLCP frame determineswhether the PLCP frame is unnecessary based on the physical ID includedin the PLCP header. According to another embodiment of the presentinvention, Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) masking may be used in the PLCPframe. In other words, if a specific sequence given to each STA ismasked to a CRC and transmitted, an STA can determine whethercorresponding information is given to or necessary for the STA in aprocess of detecting the preamble of a PLCP frame. If the information isdetermined to be for another STA, the STA may switch to the sleep mode.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a PLCP frame format to which the presentinvention may be applied.

The example of FIG. 5 shows a case where data is transmitted to an STA 1and an STA 2 according to the MU-MIMO method. A VHT-SIG1 field 510 istransmitted omni-directionally without precoding so that it can bereceived and recognized by all STAs. The VHT-SIG1 field 510 includesinformation common to all STAs. For example, information about whichstream is allocated to each STA, information about the total number ofstreams, and so on may be transferred to each STA through the VHT-SIG1field 510.

The VHT-SIG1 field 510 and the VHT-LTF field may be transmitted in anon-overlapping manner. Next, a VHT-SIG2-1 field 521 and a VHT-SIG2-2field 522, including data information and control information for eachSTA, may be transmitted in an overlapping manner. The VHT-SIG2-1 field521 and the VHT-SIG2-2 field 522 may be placed at the rear of thepreamble.

Assuming that the VHT-SIG1 field 510, including the common controlinformation for STAs, and the VHT-SIG2-1 field 521 and the VHT-SIG2-2field 522, including the control information for each of the STAs,include bits for a CRC, CRC masking may be performed on the CRC bitsincluded in the VHT-SIG2-1 field 521 and the VHT-SIG2-2 field 522 whichinclude the information unique to each STA. If a specific sequence foreach STA is masked to the CRC of the VHT-SIG2 field, including thecontrol information for each STA, and transmitted, the STA can determinewhether data/information is for its own in a process of detecting a PLCPframe. If the data/information is determined to be for another STA, theSTA may switch to the sleep mode.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which a unique sequence of an STA to whichdata will be transmitted is masked to the CRC value of a VHT-SIG fieldand transmitted. Each STA determines whether data is transmitted tohimself by comparing a STA-specific ID and a masked value. If, as aresult of the determination, the data is determined not to be its owndata, the STA may switch to the sleep mode in order to reduce powerconsumption. In the example of FIG. 6, a STA-specific ID of an STA 1(10) is masked to a CRC and then transmitted. Accordingly, the STA 1(10) remains in the RX mode (i.e., an awake mode), but the remainingSTAs (i.e., an STA 3, an STA 7, and an STA 10) decode VHT-SIG fields andthen switch to the sleep mode.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, theVHT-SIG field of the PLCP header may include a field, providinginformation about whether an STA will continue to perform overhearing.

When an STA A and an STA B transmit data frames after exchanging aRequest To Send (RTS) frame and a Clear To Send (CTS) frame, surroundingSTAs overhear the entire process. If the surrounding STAs do notoverhear relatively short control frames, such as RTS/CTS framestransmitted in order to avoid collision, but overhear relatively longdata frames for other STAs, it is waste from a viewpoint of powerefficiency.

In order to solve the problem, information (e.g., a non-overhearing bit)to indicate whether other STAs will continue to perform overhearing maybe transmitted. In accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention, the VHT-SIG field of the PLCP frame may include thenon-overhearing bit. The non-overhearing bit may have a length of 1 bit.If the non-overhearing bit is set to 0 (non-overhearing bit=0) andtransmitted, an STA which has received the non-overhearing bit continuesto perform overhearing. If the non-overhearing bit is set to 1(non-overhearing bit=1) and transmitted, an STA which has received thenon-overhearing bit may does not continue to perform overhearing, butswitch to the sleep mode. The RTS frame and the CTS frame are framesthat all STAs must overhear in order to avoid collision. Accordingly, anSTA that transmits the RTS frame or the CTS frame may set thenon-overhearing bit to 0 and transmit the set non-overhearing bit.Meanwhile, in the case where data is transmitted, the non-overhearingbit may be set to 1 and transmitted in order to prevent STAs, other thanan STA that must receive the data, from continuing to performunnecessary overhearing.

For another example, the non-overhearing bit may be added to informationtransmitted in uplink (UL) and information transmitted in downlink (DL)and then transmitted so that an STA can reduce power. Here, ULtransmission means that one or more STAs transmit radio frames to an AP,and DL transmission means that an AP transmits radio frames to one ormore STAs.

In the case of DL transmission, an STA needs to sense the busy/idlestate of a medium and to continue to perform overhearing in order toreceive its own radio frame. Accordingly, in DL transmission, thenon-overhearing bit may be set to 0 and transmitted. On the other hand,in UL transmission, since an STA transfers information to only an AP,other STAs do not need to perform overhearing. In other words, thenon-overhearing bit may be set to 1 and transmitted.

An AP may set the non-overhearing bit to 1 and transmit the setnon-overhearing bit, when sending a data frame to a specific STA. An APmay set the non-overhearing bit to 0 and transmit the setnon-overhearing bit, when sending a multicast frame or a broadcastframe.

An STA may set the non-overhearing bit to 1 when sending a data frame toan AP and set the non-overhearing bit to 0 when sending a data frame toanother STA.

If the non-overhearing bit is set to 1, an STA does not receive an MPDUfollowing a PLCP header, but may switch to the sleep mode. If thenon-overhearing bit is set to 0, however, an STA has to receive both thePLCP header and the subsequent MPDU.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show examples in which a UL data frame and a DL data frameare transmitted according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 7, when an STA 1 (10) transmits a UL data frame to an AP (5), anSTA 2 (20) determines that fields subsequent to VHT-SIG fields need notto be decoded by checking a non-overhearing bit 710 set to 1 in aVHT-SIG field and switches to the sleep mode.

In FIG. 8, when an AP (5) transmits a DL data frame to an STA 1 (10), anSTA 2 (20) maintains the RX mode (i.e., an awake mode) in which a radioframe can be received because it has to sense the state of a medium.Here, a non-overhearing bit 810 included in the VHT-SIG field of a dataframe transmitted by the AP (5) may be set to 0.

The embodiment of the present invention described above with referenceto FIGS. 7 and 8 shows an example in which the non-overhearing bit,indicating whether STAs will continue to perform overhearing, isincluded in the PLCP header and then transmitted. In accordance withanother embodiment of the present invention, the PLCP header may includea transmission type field/bit stream, including information indicating aclass according to a transmission type.

Table 1 shows classes according to transmission types. In the classtypes of Table 1, the sequence is arbitrary, and the present inventionis not limited thereto. The details are exemplary and may be reduced orincreased as occasion demands.

TABLE 1 CLASS TYPE DETAILS 1 AP → STA 2 STA → AP 3 STA → STA 4 AP → AP 5Broadcasting . . . . . .

A bit stream indicating the transmission type class may be included inthe VHT-SIG field. An STA may check the transmission type (e.g., DLtransmission, UL transmission, or broadcasting) of a relevant PLCP framebased on a bit stream indicating a transmission type class and determinewhether to switch to the sleep mode.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention,indication information for distinguishing an STA and a BSS from eachother may be included in the VHT-SIG field. An association ID (AID) maybe used as indication information for distinguishing STAs from eachother. A BSS ID may be used as indication information for distinguishingBSSs from each other. The indication information is described in detailbelow in connection with embodiments.

An IEEE 802.11n WLAN system supports SU-MIMO transmission using amaximum of four spatial streams, but a VHT WLAN system can supportMU-MIMO transmission in addition to SU-MIMO transmission. In thetransmission of a radio frame using SU-MIMO and the transmission of aradio frame using MU-MIMO, if the same PLCP frame format is used, someof control information included in the VHT-SIG field in order to supportMU-MIMO may have nothing influence if transmission using SU-MIMO isperformed. In other words, the control information may becomeunnecessary information. For example, if a group ID, indicating STAs(i.e., the subject of MU-MIMO transmission), and information, indicatinga stream number allocated to each target STA of MU-MIMO transmission,are included in the VHT-SIG field in order to support MU-MIMOtransmission, the group ID and the information may become meaninglessinformation for an STA operating according to the SU-MIMO scheme.

Assuming that 4 MU-MIMO transmission target STAs can receive 0 to 4spatial streams, respectively, 4 bits for setting a group ID to indicatethe four MU-MIMO transmission target STAs and a maximum of 12 bits toindicate stream numbers may be used in the VHT-SIG field. In accordancewith SU-MIMO transmission, to transmit the 12 bits may be meaningless orwaste of radio resources. Accordingly, in accordance with the SU-MIMOtransmission, a scheme for transmitting different pieces of informationthat may be used in the SU-MIMO transmission by using bits used toinform information for MU-MIMO transmission may be taken intoconsideration.

An AP or an STA trying to transmit a radio frame may include differentpieces of information in data according to a case where the data issought to be transmitted in the MU-MIMO format and a case where the datais sought to be transmitted in the SU-MIMO format, when generating theVHT-SIG field. An AP or an STA that has received the radio frame mayinterpret that a VHT-SIG field within a PLCP header indicates differentpieces of information by dividing a case where the radio frame isreceived according to SU-MIMO transmission and a case where the radioframe is received according to MU-MIMO transmission, when interpretingthe VHT-SIG field.

For example, when an SU/MU-MIMO indication bit to indicate SU-MIMOtransmission or MU-MIMO transmission means the SU-MIMO transmission, anSTA may differently interpret a bit stream indicative of a group IDwithin a VHT-SIG field and a bit stream indicative of the number ofspatial streams in the case of the MU-MIMO transmission. Here, the groupID is an ID to indicate the group of target STAs according to MU-MIMOtransmission, and the number of spatial streams indicates the number ofspatial streams that must be received by each of the target STAsaccording to MU-MIMO transmission.

As an example in which a bit stream is differently interpreted,according to SU-MIMO transmission, an STA may interpret a bit streamindicative of a group ID and a bit stream indicative of the number ofspatial streams as a bit stream in which an AID and operated. This isdescribed from a viewpoint of a transmission STA (including an AP). Ifthe transmission STA is sought to perform SU-MIMO transmission, thetransmission STA may set an AID in a VHT-SIG field, instead of the bitstream indicative of a group ID and the bit stream indicative of thenumber of spatial streams, and transmit the association ID. Here, a BSSID other than the AID may be included in the VHT-SIG field asinformation which is set instead of the bit stream indicative of a groupID and the bit stream indicative of the number of spatial streams andthen transmitted.

An AID that an AP, supporting the IEEE 802.11 standard, may allocate theAID to an STA in the association process may have a length of 16 bits,and the 16 bits may include 14 Least Significant Bits (LSBs) and 2 MostSignificant Bits (MSBs) 2 bits. The AID value has a value ranging from 1to 2007 and thus requires a minimum of 11 bits in order to represent 1to 2007. A BSS ID is an ID of a BSS. In the case of an infrastructureBSS, the BSS ID may be the MAC address of an AP and is informationcorresponding to 6 bytes. In the AID and the BSS ID, all bit fields thatcan be included in the AID and the BSS ID may be difficult to beaccommodated in a limited VHT-SIG field. Accordingly, the AID and theBSS ID may be mapped to a specific power save ID by reducing the bitsthrough a hash function and then used. As an example of hashing, onlypart of the bits of the AID or BSS ID may be used as a power save ID.

In the case where bit fields allocated to a VHT-SIG field areinsufficient and thus may not be used to include and transmit the entireAID, some of the AID may be included in the VHT-SIG field. For example,an AP may include 9 LSB bits, from among the 16 bits of an AID allocatedin the association process, and a partial AID, corresponding to the 9LSB bits of a lower order, in a VHT-SIG field and transmit the VHT-SIGfield.

The above method in which the transmission STA transmits differentpieces of information, included in the VHT-SIG field, according to theMU-MIMO transmission scheme and the SU-MIMO transmission scheme and thereception STA differently interprets the information, included in theVHT-SIG field, according to the MU-MIMO transmission scheme and theSU-MIMO transmission scheme may be used as a method for increasing thepower consumption efficiency of an STA.

An STA reads the AID or partial AID which is included in the VHT-SIG andtransmitted. If the AID is not identical with its own AID or partialAID, the STA determines that a corresponding PLCP frame is unnecessaryand may switch to the sleep mode without decoding for subsequent fields.

In another embodiment, information about a combination of indicators(e.g., BSS IDs) for distinguishing an AID and a BSS from each other maybe included in the VHT-SIG field and then transmitted. In this case,only STAs having an AID included in a specific BSS may receive data, butSTAs not having the AID included in the specific BSS may switch to thesleep mode. This may be usefully used in an OBSS environment and will bedescribed in detail later with reference to relevant drawings.

FIG. 9 shows an example in which a partial AID is included in a VHT-SIGfield and transmitted.

In the example of FIG. 9, an AP (5) transmits a PLCP frame 900 to an STA3 (30). A VHT-SIG1 field included in the PLCP header of the PLCP frame900 includes a partial AID 910. As described above, the partial AID isobtained by taking some of the bits of the AID that an AP allocates theAID to each STA in an association process with the STA. In the exampleof FIG. 9, the partial AID 910 is set to A, which is the value of 9 LSBits of an AID of the STA 3 (30). In other words, in the example of FIG.9, the AP (5) includes the partial AID of the STA 3 (30) in the VHT-SIG1field and transmits the VHT-SIG1 field.

An STA 1 (10) and an STA 2 (20), other than the STA 3 (30) whose partialID is A, may switch to the sleep mode because they need not to readinformation about fields transmitted subsequently to the VHT-SIG1 field.

For another example, the partial AID may be included in a VHT-SIG2 fieldand then transmitted. In this case, the STA 1 (10) and the STA 2 (20)may read up to the VHT-SIG2 field and switch to the sleep mode bychecking that a corresponding frame is unnecessary for him.

In order to utilize the partial AID according to an embodiment of thepresent invention, an AP allocates the partial AID to different STAs sothat the partial AID is not redundant to the different STAs, in relationto bits that may be used as the partial AID, when performing anassociation process with the STAs. For example, in the case where N bitsanterior to the partial AID are used as the partial AID, an AP mayallocate different N bits to a 2^(N) number of STAs in an associationprocess with the STAs. The number of STAs that can be distinguished fromeach other by using 11 bits is 2007, but it is unrealistic for an AP tomanage about 2007 STAs at the same time. Accordingly, if 2^(N) isgreater than the number of STAs that are managed by an AP at the sametime, all the 11 bits of the partial AID may not be used, but N bits maybe used. Hereinafter, the N bits is defined as a partial AID or a powersave ID and used.

If an AP manages the number of STAs greater than 2^(N) (i.e., the numberof STAs that can be managed using a power save ID), an STA that isassociated with the AP at a (2^(N)+1)^(th) position may share a powersave ID already being used. It is preferred that several STAs not shareone power save ID, if possible. It is assumed that when a 2^(N) numberof STAs are associated with an AP, an STA 1=power save ID 1, an STA2=power save ID 2, . . . , an STA 2^(N)=power save ID 2, an STA2^(N)+1=power save ID 1, and an STA 2^(N)+2=power save ID 1. In the casewhere the three STAs share the one power save ID 1 as described above,if the AP includes the power save ID 1 in the VHT-SIG field andtransmits the VHT-SIG field in order to transmit data to the STA 1, theSTA 2^(N)+1 and the STA 2^(N)+2 may not switch to the sleep mode,although the data is unnecessary for the STA 2^(N)+1 and the STA2^(N)+2.

A power save ID may be usefully used even in supporting MU-MIMOtransmission. When an AP tries to transmit a specific spatial streamusing MU-MIMO transmission to an STA 1, the STA 1, an STA 2, and an STA3 may think that the specific spatial stream is allocated thereto andmay operate. This is because the STAs are basically operated in the RXmode (i.e., a reception standby state) in order to receive a radio framethat is not known when the radio frame will be received to the STAs.This problem is generated because a radio frame does not include IDinformation for determining whether the radio frame is transmitted towhich STA in the physical level and thus STAs receive all radio frameswhose carries are detected according to Clear Channel Assessment (CCA)and perform demodulation and decoding for the radio frames.

If information, indicating that a PLCP frame is for which STA, isincluded in the VHT-SIG field of the PLCP frame, the above problem canbe solved. Here, the VHT-SIG field may be the VHT-SIG2 field of FIG. 9which is configured to include control information for each STA andtransmitted. For example, in the example of FIG. 9, the STA 1 (10) andthe STA 2 (20) which have read a power save ID meaning the AID of theSTA 3 (30), included in the VHT-SIG2 field that may be called anSTA-specific SIG field and transmitted, may reduce power consumption byswitching to the sleep mode.

In a WLAN system, an STA always basically maintains the RX mode (i.e., areception standby state). When a radio frame is transmitted through aspecific spatial stream, several STAs simultaneously attempt todemodulate and decode the radio frame transmitted through the spatialstream. In MU-MIMO transmission, a VHT-SIG1 field may be called a commonVHT-SIG field including common information about all STAs. Accordingly,an AP includes a power save ID in a VHT-SIG2 field that may be called anSTA-specific VHT-SIG field and transmits the VHT-SIG2 field so that eachof the STAs can determine whether to switch to the sleep mode.

If the above power reduction method used in the BSS environment isapplied to an OBSS environment without change, an STA operated in anarea in which BSAs of a plurality of BSSs constituting an OBSS areoverlapped with each other may not switch to the sleep mode based on STAID information in the physical layer level, such as power save IDs orgroup IDs transmitted by several APs. For example, in the case of agroup ID, a situation, such as that shown in FIG. 10, may be generated.

FIG. 10 illustrates a problem that may be generated in an OBSSenvironment.

In the example of FIG. 10, an AP 1 of a BSS 1 has allocated a Group ID Ato an STA 1 and an STA 2 and a Group ID B to an STA 3 and an STA 4.Since the AP 1 transmits data to the STA 1 and the STA 2 to which theGroup ID A has been allocated, the STA 3 and the STA 4 have to switch tothe sleep mode. However, since the STA 4 is operated in the area inwhich the BSAs of the BSS 1 and a BSS 2 overlap with each other, the STA4 may not switch to the sleep mode. Since the AP 2 of the BSS 2transmits data to an STA 5 and an STA 6 to which the Group ID B has beenallocated, the STA 4 continues to be operated in the awake mode althoughthe data will not be transmitted to the STA 4.

In order to reduce such unnecessary power consumption, there is proposeda method of including a BSS ID in a VHT-SIG field. To include the BSS IDof 48 bits in the VHT-SIG field without change may be realisticallydifficult because of a limit to the bit fields of the VHT-SIG field.According to an embodiment of the present invention, in order to solvethe problem, CRC masking may be used, or BSS ID information that mayreplace the BSS ID may be included in the VHT-SIG field. The BSS IDinformation that may replace the BSS ID is for identifying BSSsconstituting an OBSS. The BSS ID information may be composed of about 2or 3 bits by taking the number of APs which can produce an OBSSenvironment into consideration. The BSS ID information that may replacethe BSS ID is hereinafter referred to as a local AP ID. The local AP IDcan identify BSSs by using smaller bits than the BSS ID.

The local AP ID, together with the BSS ID, may be transmitted though abeacon frame which is periodically transmitted by an AP. FIG. 11 showsan example of the frame format of a beacon frame, including a local APID 1100, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The local AP ID may be obtained by hashing a BSS ID and used between allSTAs and an AP through an agreement. As an example in which the local APID is obtained by hashing the BSS ID, only some of the bit fields of theBSS ID may be fetched and used as the local AP ID.

The above problem generated in the OBSS environment may be solved byincluding a BSS ID or a local AP ID in a VHT-SIG field in addition to agroup ID such that an STA having another group ID primarily switches tothe sleep mode using the group ID and an STA belonging to another BSSsecondarily switches to the sleep mode using the BSS ID or the local APID. Here, the group ID may be included in a VHT-SIG1 field andtransmitted, and the BSS ID (or local AP ID) may be included in aVHT-SIG2 field and transmitted.

FIG. 12 shows a radio frame reception algorithm for reducing powerconsumption of an STA.

If error is not generated as a result of a CRC after detecting anddecoding a VHT-SIG1 field (CRC OK), an STA may obtain information abouta VHT length. If information about whether to switch to the sleep modeis included, an STA which does not receive data may switch to the sleepmode (for example, in UL transmission). If error is not generated as aresult of a CRC after detecting and decoding a VHT-SIG2 field (CRC OK),STAs which do not receive data may switch to the sleep mode. If error isfound as a result of a CRC for the VHT-SIG2 field (CRC fail), the STAmay set a Network Allocation Vector (NAV) because it has alreadyobtained the length information from the VHT-SIG1 and may be operated inthe sleep mode during the period in which the NAV is set.

In accordance with the embodiments of the present invention describedwith reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, the AID, the partial AID, the BSS ID,and the local AP ID may be included in the VHT-SIG1 field or theVHT-SIG2 field and then transmitted. According to another method, theAID, the partial AID, the BSS ID, and the local AP ID may be masked to aCRC included in the VHT-SIG1 field or the VHT-SIG2 field and thentransmitted.

Information, indicating STAs that should be operated in the awake mode,may be included in the VHT-SIG1 field. Information indicating a datareception STA that must decode and demodulate data, from among the STAswhich are indicated in the VHT-SIG1 field and should be operated in theawake mode, may be included in the VHT-SIG2 field.

FIG. 13 shows an example of a PLCP frame format that supports SU-MIMOtransmission according to an embodiment of the present invention.

If all pieces of control information for supporting SU-MIMO transmissioncan be included in the VHT-SIG1 field of the PLCP frame 900 of FIG. 9,to transmit the VHT-SIG2 field is to transmit unnecessary information,which may serve as overhead. Accordingly, in SU-MIMO transmission, theVHT-SIG2 field may be omitted.

If additional information needs to be transmitted in order toefficiently support SU-MIMO transmission in various environments,however, the VHT-SIG2 field may be transmitted without being omitted,but additional information to be transmitted may be included in theVHT-SIG2 field.

In FIG. 13, a first PLCP frame 1310 shows an example in which all piecesof control information necessary for SU-MIMO transmission are includedin a VHT-SIG1 field and transmitted, but a VHT-SIG2 field is omitted.Furthermore, a second PLCP frame 1320 shows an example in which controlinformation necessary for SU-MIMO transmission is included in a VHT-SIG1field and transmitted, and information that is not transmitted throughthe VHT-SIG1 field owing to the insufficient bit fields of the VHT-SIG1field or information that may be additionally supplied is included inthe VHT-SIG2 field and transmitted.

If whether to include the VHT-SIG2 field in SU-MIMO transmission isoptional as in the example of FIG. 13, information, indicating whetherthe PLCP frame includes the VHT-SIG2 field, has to be transmitted. Inthe example of FIG. 13, a user-specific VHT-SIG bit 1315 and auser-specific VHT-SIG bit 1325, included in the VHT-SIG1 field andtransmitted, indicate whether the VHT-SIG2 field is included in the PLCPframe. The user-specific VHT-SIG bit 1325 included in the VHT-SIG1 fieldof the second PLCP frame 1320 is set to 1 in order to inform that thePLCP frame 1320 includes the VHT-SIG2 field. An AID or a power save ID1327, included in the VHT-SIG2 field of the second PLCP frame 1320,shows an example of supplementary information which may be included inthe VHT-SIG2 field and transmitted.

The frame configuration and the transmission method according to theembodiment of FIG. 13 may be applied to MU-MIMO transmission in alimited situation. When MU-MIMO transmission is supported, controlinformation about each of destination STAs according to the MU-MIMOtransmission is included in the VHT-SIG2 field. The control informationincluded in the VHT-SIG2 field may be an MCS of data which istransmitted to each STA. If a channel environment has been stabilized,an MCS used whenever a data frame is transmitted will not be changed. Ifinformation included in the VHT-SIG2 field and transmitted is notchanged for a given period, the user-specific VHT-SIG bit may be set to0, and a PLCP frame including only the VHT-SIG1 field may betransmitted. That is, even in MU-MIMO transmission, if information to betransmitted through the VHT-SIG2 field is not changed or maintainedidentically for a given period, relevant information may be transmittedusing the format of the PLCP frame 1310 of FIG. 13, as in SU-MIMOtransmission, during the period in which the relevant information is notchanged after it is first transmitted.

The embodiment described with reference to FIG. 7 is an example of themethod of including information (i.e., the non-overhearing bit),indicating whether STAs other than a transmission STA will continueoverhearing, in the VHT-SIG1 field and transmitting the information, inthe case of UL transmission. Furthermore, in the embodiment describedwith reference to FIG. 9, it has been described that the partial AID ofN bits may be included in the VHT-SIG field as information foridentifying a target STA and then transmitted. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, when the partial AID of N bits isincluded in the VHT-SIG1 field and transmitted, the transmission of theinformation, indicating whether other STAs will continue overhearingdescribed with reference to FIG. 7, may be replaced with the partial AIDof N bits. In other words, the transmission of the non-overhearing bitmay be replaced with the transmission of the partial AID of N bits.

If the partial AID can be represented by N bits or an M number of statescomparable to the N bits, some of the states may be used for the samepurpose as the non-overhearing bit. If some of an M number of the statesis allocated to indicate that an STA performs transmission to an AP,there is an advantage in that STAs now hearing a relevant PLCP mayswitch to the power save mode in a bundle because they are not an AP.

Furthermore, in the case where an AP transmits data to STAs inbroadcast, all the STAs have to receive the data. Some of an M number ofthe states may be allocated and used to indicate that an AP or a certainSTA performs broadcast transmission in which data is transmitted to anumber of unspecific STAs or APs.

In an alternative embodiment, a bit or a field, including informationinforming broadcasted data or information informing that the target ofreception is an AP, may be included in a PLCP header and transmitted.

A reception target indicator indicative of the target of reception maybe included in a PLCP header (e.g., a VHT-SIG field) so that an STA oran AP (i.e., not the subject of reception) may switch to the sleep mode.Table 2 shows an example in which reception target indicators are set.

TABLE 2 RECEPTION TARGET SUBJECT OF INDICATOR RECEPTION 0 STA 1 AP 2Broadcast

If a reception target indicator indicating the target of reception isincluded in a VHT-SIG field and additional information aiming to reducepower is included in a PLCP header, the additional information aiming toreduce power may be differently interpreted according to the receptiontarget indicator. For example, if the object indicated by a receptiontarget indicator is an AP, additional information aiming to reduce powermay be interpreted as information relating to the AP. If the objectindicated by a reception target indicator is an STA, additionalinformation aiming to reduce power may be interpreted as informationrelating to the STA. For example, if a reception target indicatorindicates the target of reception as an STA and an AID or a partial AIDis transmitted as additional information aiming to reduce power, an STAthat has received the AID or the partial AID interprets the AID or thepartial AID, transmitted as the additional information, as the AID orpartial AID of an STA not an AP. Table 3 shows another example in whichreception target indicators are set.

TABLE 3 RECEPTION TARGET SUBJECT OF INDICATOR RECEPTION 0 STA 1 AP 2Broadcast for STA 3 Broadcast for AP

Meanwhile, an AP is a fixed device, and power efficiency for the AP hasbeen less taken into consideration. If DL data to be transmitted to anSTA exists as in FIG. 14, an AP transmits the DL data to the STA whenthe STA is determined to be operated in the awake mode. For example,when an AP informs that there is data to be transmitted to an STAthrough a beacon frame, the STA informs the AP that the STA is operatedin the awake mode by transmitting a trigger to the AP and then receivesthe data from the AP. In the case where there is no further data to betransmitted, if the AP transmits an End of Service period (EOSP) to theSTA, the STA is operated again in the sleep mode. Even though there isno data to be transmitted to the STA, the AP periodically transmits abeacon frame for the purpose of an operation, such as an operation ofassociating with a new STA. If there is UL data to be transmitted to anAP, an STA can transmit the UL data to the AP when a channel isdetermined to be idle according to a CSMA/CA rule because the AP isalways operated in the awake mode.

However, as mobile Internet devices, such as smart phones, Netbooks, andMIDs, are recently rapidly popularized, service satisfactory toconsumers is not supported using fixed APs, such as the existing wirednetwork or Wi-Fi at home. For this reason, a mobile AP that allowsconsumers to freely enjoy wireless service anywhere has been in thespotlight. A mobile AP needs to take power consumption efficiency intoconsideration because it is operated using limited power as in an STA.Accordingly, it is necessary to introduce technology for a powerreduction method for an AP.

The existing AP is always operated in an active mode. According to anembodiment of the present invention, an AP may place a limitation on theperiod in which an STA transmits UL data to the AP in order to reduceunnecessary power consumption of the AP, occurring because the AP isalways operated in the active mode. In other words, the AP may beoperated in the PS mode and may be switched between the awake mode andthe sleep mode. If an STA has UL data to be transmitted to an AP, theSTA transmits the UL data, buffered when the AP is in the awake mode, tothe AP. The AP has to transmit a management frame for informing the STAthat the AP is operated in the awake mode. FIG. 15 shows an example ofthe transmission of the management frame. In the example of FIG. 14, theAP (5) uses a beacon frame to inform that it is operated in the awakemode. The AP (5) may be operated in the awake mode in synchronism withthe cycle of a beacon interval because it periodically broadcasts thebeacon frame. That is, the STA (10) may know that the AP (5) is operatedin the awake mode by receiving the beacon frame and, at this time, maytransmit buffered UL data to the AP (5).

If the AP (5) has buffered DL data, the AP (5) informs the STA (10) ofthe buffered DL data through a beacon frame. The STA (10) being operatedin the awake mode transmits a trigger frame and receives the DL datafrom the AP (5). Meanwhile, if the STA (10) has buffered UL data, theSTA (10) may transmit the UL data to the AP (5) after checking that theAP (5) is operated in the awake mode. For example, the STA (10) whichhas read the beacon frame of the AP (5) may know that the AP (5) isoperated in the awake mode. After transmitting the beacon frame, the AP(5) maintains the awake mode for a given period. If there is no UL datatransmission, the AP (5) may enter the sleep mode in order to increasethe power consumption efficiency of the AP (5). Meanwhile, in the casewhere the AP (5) has buffered DL data to be transmitted the STA (10) andthe STA (10) has buffered UL data to be transmitted to the AP (5), thesubject of data transmission is determined through a CSMA/CA rule. Inorder to receive DL data according to a backoff interval, the STA (10)may transmit a trigger frame to the AP (5) or UL data to the AP (5).

FIG. 16 shows an example in which an AP and an STA are operated in orderto reduce the power consumption of the AP according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

In order to increase the power efficiency of an AP, the cycle of abeacon frame transmitted may be increased. In this case, the period inwhich the AP can transmit DL data to an STA is reduced. Furthermore,transmission delay of UL data may be increased owing to the increasedcycle of the beacon frame. In an embodiment of the present invention, inorder to improve the above problem, the buffered UL data of an STA maybe transmitted between DL beacon frames, as in the example of FIG. 16.An STA (10) transmits an RTS frame to an AP (5) because the STA (10)does not know whether the AP (5) is operated in the awake mode without abeacon frame transmitted by the AP (5). When a CTS frame is receivedfrom the AP (5) in response to the RTS frame, the STA (10) transmits ULdata to the AP (5). Here, the AP (5) is periodically operated in theawake mode in other times when the beacon frame is transmitted, but doesnot transmit the beacon frame. Accordingly, the power consumptionefficiency of an AP can be increased and the delay of data transmissioncan be reduced, as compared with the embodiment described with referenceto FIG. 14.

FIG. 17 shows an example in which an AP and an STA are operated in orderto reduce the power consumption of the AP according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

In the embodiment of FIG. 16, the STA (10) can transmit UL data to theAP (5) after checking whether the AP (5) is operated in the awake modethrough the exchange of the RTS frame and the CTS frame with the AP (5).Here, if the AP (5) is not operated in the awake mode, the STA (10) mayconsume unnecessary power by unilaterally transmitting only the RTSframe. However, if the STA (10) provides the AP (5) with informationabout a point of time at which the STA (10) is operated in the awakemode, the AP (5) can be operated in the awake mode in synchronism withthe time when the STA (10) is awaken. In the example of FIG. 17, it isassumed that an AP (5) is operated in the awake mode at a beaconinterval 1. An STA (10) transmits a short beacon frame to the AP (5)when the AP (5) is in the awake mode. Here, the short beacon frameincludes information about when the STA (10) will become the awake mode.After reading the short beacon frame, the AP (5) can be operated in theawake mode in synchronism with the period in which the STA (10) isawaken. That is, the AP (5) may adjust the beacon interval 1 to a beaconinterval 2 according to the status of the STA (10).

If a plurality of STAs is associated with an AP, the AP may be operatedin the PS mode based on information transmitted in a short beacon framefrom among beacon frames transmitted by the STAs.

Hereinafter, pieces of information that may be included in the VHTSIG1field and the VHTSIG2 field in order to implement the variousembodiments are described below with reference to various examples.

TABLE 4 SU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field (max 48 bits) VHT length MU indication #of SS per user CBW Smoothing Not sounding STBC FEC coding Short GIResolvable indication Non-overhearing MCS CRC Tail bit

TABLE 5 MU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field MU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user (CBW) (CBW) STBC FECcoding Short GI resolvable indication Group ID MCS CRC CRC Tail bit Tailbit

Table 4 shows an example of the pieces of information that may beincluded in the VHTSIG field of a PLCP frame which supports SU-MIMOtransmission, and Table 5 shows an example of the pieces of informationthat may be included in the VHTSIG field of a PLCP frame which supportsMU-MIMO transmission.

If an MU indication indicates SU-MIMO transmission, an STA can obtainall pieces of information, related to data transmission, from VHTSIGA,and thus an AP does not transmit the VHTSIG2 field. If an MU indicationindicates MU-MIMO transmission, an AP transmits fields, such as a VHTlength, an MU indication, and a stream number indication all of whichmust be read by paired target STAs of MU-MIMO, through the VHTSIG1 fieldand transmits the remaining pieces of information other than the fieldsthrough the VHTSIG2 field as control information for each of the pairedSTAs. As in Table 5, a field value in which information transmittedthrough the VHTSIG1 field is moved to the VHTSIG2 field in Table 4includes a stream indication or a group ID necessary for MU-MIMOtransmission and it may be interpreted again in the VHTSIG1 field.

In SU-MIMO transmission, in order to increase the power reductionefficiency of an STA, the power save ID (or, partial AID or local AP ID)of the above embodiment may be transmitted using the VHT length field inthe SU-MIMO VHTSIG of Table 4. In this case, the VHT duration may betransmitted through an L-SIG field.

In MU-MIMO transmission, in order to increase the power reductionefficiency of an STA in an OBSS environment, the local AP ID may beincluded in the VHTSIG1 field or the VHTSIG2 field. The local AP ID maybe relatively easily included in the VHTSIG2 field and transmittedbecause the VHTSIG2 field has marginal space. However, if the local APID is included in the VHTSIG1 field, an STA can switch to the sleep modeand operate from VHTSTF. In this case, it is inefficient as comparedwith the case where the STA is operated in the sleep mode from theVHTSIG2 field. The VHT length or the CRC field of the VHTSIG1 field maybe interpreted as the local AP ID and then used.

Even in MU-MIMO transmission, when an AP transmits data to an STA, anindicator, indicating whether the VHTSIG2 field is included in theVHTSIG1 field, may be included and transmitted in order not to transmitthe VHTSIG2 field when the information of the VHTSIG2 field is notchanged.

TABLE 6 SU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field (max 48 bits) VHT length MU indication #of SS per user CBW smoothing Not sounding STBC FEC coding Short GIresolvable indication non-overhearing MCS CRC Tail bit

TABLE 7 MU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field MU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user (CBW) (CBW) STBC FECcoding Short GI resolvable indication PS ID Group ID MCS CRC CRC Tailbit Tail bit

In Table 5, fields, such as STBC, FEC coding, and short GI, aretransmitted through the VHTSIG2 field. Here, in terms of the structureof a PLCP frame, delay may be generated because information of theVHTSIG2 field is required in decoding data. That is, as in Table 7, someor all of the fields of STBC, FEC coding, and short GI have to betransmitted through the VHTSIG1 field. Here, if an MU indicationindicates MU-MIMO transmission, an AP may leave fields, such as a VHTlength, an MU indication, and a stream number indication all of whichmust be read by paired MU-MIMO target STAs, in the VHTSIG1 field, leavesome or all of the STBC, FEC coding, and short GI fields in the VHTSIG1field for convenience of implementations, and transmit the remainingfields through the VHTSIG2 field. In Table 6, a field moved to theVHTSIGB of Table 7 may be interpreted as a stream indication or a GroupID for MU-MIMO transmission in the VHTSIG1 field and then used. Here,the CRC field of the VHTSIG1 field may be used for MU-MIMO transmission,if needed.

In MU-MIMO transmission, in order to increase the power reductionefficiency of an STA in an OBSS environment, a local AP ID may beincluded in the VHTSIG1 field or the VHTSIG2 field. The local AP ID maybe relatively easily included in the VHTSIG2 field and transmittedbecause the VHTSIG2 field has marginal space. However, if the local APID is included in the VHTSIG1 field, an STA can switch to the sleep modeand operate from VHTSTF. In this case, it is inefficient as comparedwith the case where the STA is operated in the sleep mode from theVHTSIG2 field. The VHT length or the CRC field of the VHTSIG1 field maybe interpreted as the local AP ID and then used.

Even in MU-MIMO transmission, when an AP transmits data to an STA, anindicator, indicating whether the VHTSIG2 field is included in theVHTSIG1 field, may be included and transmitted in order not to transmitthe VHTSIG2 field when the information of the VHTSIG2 field is notchanged.

TABLE 8 SU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field SU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user CBW smoothing Notsounding STBC FEC coding Short GI Resolvable indication SIGB indicationMCS PS ID CRC CRC Tail bit Tail bit

TABLE 9 MU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field MU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user (CBW) (CBW) STBC FECcoding Short GI Resolvable indication Group ID MCS CRC CRC Tail bit Tailbit

TABLE 10 SU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field SU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user CBW smoothing Notsounding STBC FEC coding Short GI Resolvable indication SIGB indicationMCS PS ID CRC CRC Tail bit Tail bit

TABLE 11 MU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field MU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user (CBW) (CBW) STBC FECcoding Short GI Resolvable indication PS ID Group ID MCS CRC CRC Tailbit Tail bit

TABLE 12 SU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field SU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user CBW smoothing Notsounding STBC FEC coding Short GI Resolvable indication SIGB indicationMCS PS ID CRC CRC Tail bit Tail bit

TABLE 13 MU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field MU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user (CBW) (CBW) STBC FECcoding Short GI Resolvable indication Group ID MCS CRC CRC Tail bit Tailbit

TABLE 14 SU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field SU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user CBW smoothing Notsounding STBC FEC coding Short GI resolvable indication SIGB indicationMCS PS ID CRC CRC Tail bit Tail bit

TABLE 15 MU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field MU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user (CBW) (CBW) STBC FECcoding Short GI Resolvable indication PS ID Group ID MCS CRC CRC Tailbit Tail bit

TABLE 16 SU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field SU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user CBW smoothing Notsounding STBC FEC coding Short GI Resolvable indication SIGB indicationPS ID MCS CRC CRC Tail bit Tail bit

TABLE 17 MU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field MU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user (CBW) (CBW) STBC FECcoding Short GI Resolvable indication Group ID MCS CRC CRC Tail bit Tailbit

TABLE 18 SU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field SU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user CBW smoothing Notsounding STBC FEC coding Short GI Resolvable indication SIGB indicationPS ID MCS CRC CRC Tail bit Tail bit

TABLE 19 MU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field MU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user (CBW) (CBW) STBC FECcoding Short GI Resolvable indication PS ID Group ID MCS CRC CRC Tailbit Tail bit

TABLE 20 SU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field SU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user CBW smoothing Notsounding STBC FEC coding Short GI resolvable indication SIGB indicationPS ID MCS CRC CRC Tail bit Tail bit

TABLE 21 MU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field MU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user (CBW) (CBW) STBC FECcoding Short GI resolvable indication Group ID MCS CRC CRC Tail bit Tailbit

TABLE 22 SU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field SU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user CBW smoothing Notsounding STBC FEC coding Short GI Resolvable indication SIGB indicationPS ID MCS CRC CRC Tail bit Tail bit

TABLE 23 MU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field MU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user (CBW) (CBW) STBC FECcoding Short GI Resolvable indication PS ID Group ID MCS CRC CRC Tailbit Tail bit

TABLE 24 SU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field SU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user CBW smoothing Notsounding STBC FEC coding Short GI resolvable indication SIGB indicationPS ID MCS CRC CRC Tail bit Tail bit

TABLE 25 MU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field MU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user (CBW) (CBW) STBC FECcoding Short GI resolvable indication Group ID MCS CRC CRC Tail bit Tailbit

TABLE 26 SU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field SU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user CBW smoothing Notsounding STBC FEC coding Short GI Resolvable indication SIGB indicationPS ID MCS CRC CRC Tail bit Tail bit

TABLE 27 MU-MIMO VHTSIG1 Field MU-MIMO VHTSIG2 Field (max 48 bits) (max26 bits) VHT length MU indication # of SS per user (CBW) (CBW) STBC FECcoding Short GI Resolvable indication PS ID Group ID MCS CRC CRC Tailbit Tail bit

Tables 8 to 27 show examples of pieces of information which may beincluded in the VHTSIG1 field and the VHTSIG2 field when SU-MIMOtransmission and MU-MIMO transmission use the same PLCP frame. Here, thePS ID may be the partial AID or the local AP ID in the variousembodiments and may be used to increase the power efficiency of an STAin SU-MIMO transmission.

The following factors in configuring the VHTSIG field may be furthertaken into consideration. An IEEE 802.11n WLAN system supports SpaceTime Block Coding (STBC). The IEEE 802.11n WLAN system supportstransmission using a maximum of four spatial streams, and a 4Txtransmission STA (transmitter) has four Space Time Streams (STSs). If8Tx transmission STA (transmitter) is supported in order to improve thethroughput of a VHT WLAN system, a combination of an STS and a SpatialStream (SS) may be configured as in Table 28.

TABLE 28 # of STS STBC field # of SS 1 0 1 2 0 2 2 1 1 3 0 3 3 1 2 4 0 44 1 3 4 2 2 5 0 5 5 1 4 5 2 3 6 0 6 6 1 6 6 2 4 6 3 4 7 0 7 7 1 6 7 2 57 3 4 8 0 8 8 1 7 8 2 6 8 3 5 8 4 4

As can be seen from Table 28, in the case of 4Tx, the STBC field can beindicated using 2 bits because it needs to represent three states. Inthe case of 8Tx, however, the STBC field needs to be represented usingat least 3 bits because it can have 5 states. If a VHTSIG field has noroom to accommodate them, the number of states that must be representedthrough the STBC field can be reduced by supporting only states greatlyinfluencing the throughput. For example, if the number of STSs is 8 andthe STBC field supports (0, 1, 2, 4) or (0, 1, 3, 4) or (0, 2, 3, 4),the STBC can be supported by using only signaling of 2 bits.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a wireless apparatus in which theembodiment of the present invention is implemented. The wirelessapparatus 1800 may be an AP or STA.

The wireless apparatus 1800 includes a processor 1810, memory 1820, anda transceiver 1830. The transceiver 1830 transmits and receives a radiosignal and has the physical layer of IEEE 802.11 implemented therein.The processor 1810 is functionally connected to the transceiver 1830 andconfigured to implement the MAC layer and the physical layer of IEEE802.11. When the processor 1810 processes the operation of an AP in theabove methods, the wireless apparatus 1800 becomes the AP. When theprocessor 1810 processes the operation of an STA in the above methods,the wireless apparatus 1800 becomes the STA. The processor 1810 or thetransceiver 1830 or both may include Application-Specific IntegratedCircuits (ASICs), other chipsets, logic circuits and/or data processingdevices. The memory 1820 may include Read-Only Memory (ROM), RandomAccess Memory (RAM), flash memory, a memory card, a storage medium,and/or other storage devices. When the embodiment is implemented insoftware, the above scheme may be implemented using a module (process,function, etc.) for performing the above functions. The module may bestored in the memory 1820 and executed by the processor 1810. The memory1820 may be external or internal to the processor 1810 and may becoupled to the processor 1820 through various well-known means.

The above embodiments include various forms of illustrations. Althoughall possible combinations for illustrating the various forms may not bedescribed, a person having ordinary skill in the art will appreciatethat other combinations are possible. Accordingly, the present inventionmay be said to include all other replacements, modifications, andchanges which fall within the scope of the invention as defined in thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of transmitting data in a wireless localarea network, the method comprising: generating, by a transmittingstation, a physical layer convergence procedure (PLCP) protocol dataunit (PPDU), the PPDU including a signal field and a data field; andtransmitting, by the transmitting station, the PPDU to the receivingstation, wherein the signal field includes a class type indicatingwhether a transmission type of the PPDU is an uplink transmission or adownlink transmission.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thetransmitting station is an access point (AP) and the transmittingstation is a non-AP station when the class type indicates that thetransmission type of the PPDU is a downlink transmission.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein the receiving station is an AP and the transmittingstation is a non-AP station when the class type indicates that thetransmission type of the PPDU is an uplink transmission.
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein the class type indicates that a transmission type ofthe PPDU is one of the uplink transmission, the downlink transmissionand a group transmission.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the classtype identifies a group of receiving stations when the class typeindicates that the transmission type of the PPDU is the grouptransmission.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the class type furtherindicates that the PPDU is transmitted by using single user-multipleinput multiple output (SU-MIMO) transmission.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the signal field further includes an identifier fieldidentifying the receiving station.
 8. A device configured fortransmitting data in a wireless local area network, the devicecomprising: a transceiver configured to transmit or receive a physicallayer convergence procedure (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU); and aprocessor functionally connected to the transceiver and configured to:generate the PPDU, the PPDU including a signal field and a data field,and control the transceiver to transmit the PPDU to the receivingstation, wherein the signal field includes a class type indicatingwhether a transmission type of the PPDU is an uplink transmission or adownlink transmission.
 9. The device of claim 8, wherein the device isan access point (AP) and the transmitting station is a non-AP stationwhen the class type indicates that the transmission type of the PPDU isa downlink transmission.
 10. The device of claim 8, wherein thereceiving station is an AP and the device is a non-AP station when theclass type indicates that the transmission type of the PPDU is an uplinktransmission.
 11. The device of claim 8, wherein the class typeindicates that a transmission type of the PPDU is one of the uplinktransmission, the downlink transmission and a group transmission. 12.The device of claim 11, wherein the class type identifies a group ofreceiving stations when the class type indicates that the transmissiontype of the PPDU is the group transmission.
 13. The device of claim 8,wherein the class type further indicates that the PPDU is transmitted byusing single user-multiple input multiple output (SU-MIMO) transmission.14. The device of claim 8, wherein the signal field further includes anidentifier field identifying the receiving station.